Xbox 360 Graphics issue. Suggestions or Help Please

Hey guys, so I've just started playing my xbox 360 again after about a year of not playing and I've started experiencing some issues at any random time after starting to play (ranging anywhere from 2-20 minutes). I've had it since late 2009.

I've tried on multiple televisions, using both HDMI cables and the original AV Cables that came with the system.
I've cleared my system's cache.
I've tried different games, all of which are working just fine on my brother's 360.

I don't have an xbox live account and can't request online assistance, nor do I think my 360 is under warranty anymore.

Hoping someone can shed some light on my situation, please and thank you.

UPDATE:

Ok so I've contacted Microsoft and I'm shit out of luck with no warranty. And I still have no error code OR Red Rings.

So, being impatient and wanting to play some games (without annoying intterruption), while willing to do a self-inflicted repair, while spending as little money as possible.

I'm wanting to replace my 360's DVD Drive, but I'm not wanting to do it with the proper Hitatchi GDR 3120L Optical Drive because it's $40. I have an extra DVD drive and I don't care if it's not mounted inside of my 360, I don't mind having an ugly contraption.

Can this be done assuming I'm able to switch the logic chip (as I've read needs to be done) from the 360's Optical Drive, to a spare DVD drive I have available?

Last edited by Vinho; 2012-12-25 at 05:29 AM.

"The Maw's thirst is unquenchable. If it is not fed fresh victims, it will not hesitate to drink from its wielder instead."

You are lucky, i am up to my 7th Xbox since they keep breaking. And this 7th Xbox now keeps turning its self of. I have an 8th Xbox at my other place which is my only working one.

I wouldn't call him lucky so much as I would call you very unlucky. Or maybe you're doing something wrong, but I wouldn't want to assume anything. You work tech support long enough and you would be surprised how badly people treat their electronics. Usually the biggest issue was people leaving them in dusty places (or not dusting the area the product is around), and they just overheat.

OP:
Pretty much what sensei said. The GPU is failing, and you're system is going to shut down soon. Well, at least holiday and boxing day sails are on the horizon. Just pick up a new 4gig and keep your old HDD. They sold for $99 here at various retailers in Canada on Boxing Day.

Don't overheat your Xbox. You should never do this to any computing hardware. The reason for the GPU failing is because the systems before the S model had a motherboard that didn't fit well in the casing and, under stress over a long life span, the heat from being in use and the cooling down from said heat caused the motherboard to expand and shrink small degrees. As it heated and cooled in the awkwardly sized case, it would become weak and crack, faulting the video card. This is why, 9/10, people reported RROD. It's because the older models had issues with the motherboard being a tiny bit too big for the system case and it would crack after having been used for a certain number of months, weeks or even days. You also shouldn't open it because this voids the warranty. There is a small piece of tape on the inside of the case that comes loose when you do so that they know if you opened it. If you're getting RROD, your best bet is to just leave it shut and call Microsoft. The only reason you should ever open it is if you're having issues with the disc drive because you can easily clean it.

Microsoft will usually replace it provided you haven't opened it for any reason. Want to know how I got mine fixed despite having passed the warranty? I told them (this was true, but you can lie, they don't ask for proof and, really, how can they?) that as I was plugging it in, the power brick zapped me. They put me on the phone with the highest guy available on duty and talked to me very charmingly for about 30 minutes. It seemed like they were trying to avoid it getting any further out of hand, avoiding lawyers and such, and almost as soon as the guy was put on the phone to talk to me, agreed to not only replace the 360, but to send the box and pay for the shipping.

Really, though. Common sense should prevent you from ever trying to create MORE heat for any computing device, TV or whatever. You really shouldn't get those third party 'cooling units' either. All you're doing there is either forcing more air into the system than it's designed to handle or blowing air at or away from the vents or exhaust areas, causing it to not be drawn in like it's supposed to and, in a lot of cases, blown completely away from it. The system is designed to cool itself. If it is not doing this properly, it's not going to get fixed by buying some shitty fan for 15 dollars.

I've heard of some problems being fixed by running your 360 while wrapped in a towel and overheating it or something like that?

I know all the components are soldered together and I've read that people have had cold connections that have been fixed by soldering them...

I'm wondering if I can somehow dismantle it and toss it in the oven like I did my gf's dad's old gtx 260 and have it re-solder?

That's just a temporary fix for the ring of death, eventually it stops working and dies like all the others. If your warranty is out and you've already called microsoft and they told you no, then by all means do whatever you like if you want to attempt to fix it. I've never bothered to open up an xbox myself so I can't offer up any advice.

Ok so I've contacted Microsoft and I'm shit out of luck with no warranty. And I still have no error code OR Red Rings.

So, being impatient and wanting to play some games (without annoying intterruption), while willing to do a self-inflicted repair, while spending as little money as possible.

I'm wanting to replace my 360's DVD Drive, but I'm not wanting to do it with the proper Hitatchi GDR 3120L Optical Drive because it's $40. I have an extra DVD drive and I don't care if it's not mounted inside of my 360, I don't mind having an ugly contraption.

Can this be done assuming I'm able to switch the logic chip (as I've read needs to be done) from the 360's Optical Drive, to a spare DVD drive I have available?

"The Maw's thirst is unquenchable. If it is not fed fresh victims, it will not hesitate to drink from its wielder instead."

You are lucky, i am up to my 7th Xbox since they keep breaking. And this 7th Xbox now keeps turning its self of. I have an 8th Xbox at my other place which is my only working one.

Considering Xbox's haven't had issues since 3rd Gen fatboys or Gen 1 Elite I'd say you don't take care of them properly, it really isn't up for debate. When you do 8 variables and 1 constant the constant is the problem if all 8 variables come up the same.

@op that looks like artifacting which would mean your GPU is overheating, the only way to solve this w/ an xbox is take it apart, then check the xplate and solder points.

---------- Post added 2012-12-25 at 05:57 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Vinho

Ok so I've contacted Microsoft and I'm shit out of luck with no warranty. And I still have no error code OR Red Rings.

So, being impatient and wanting to play some games (without annoying intterruption), while willing to do a self-inflicted repair, while spending as little money as possible.

I'm wanting to replace my 360's DVD Drive, but I'm not wanting to do it with the proper Hitatchi GDR 3120L Optical Drive because it's $40. I have an extra DVD drive and I don't care if it's not mounted inside of my 360, I don't mind having an ugly contraption.

Can this be done assuming I'm able to switch the logic chip (as I've read needs to be done) from the 360's Optical Drive, to a spare DVD drive I have available?

Replacing the optical drive will do nothing to solve this problem, so if you want to just do it stop asking. If you want the problem fixed I'd suggest you look into fixing the heat issues.

---------- Post added 2012-12-25 at 05:59 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Vinho

I've heard of some problems being fixed by running your 360 while wrapped in a towel and overheating it or something like that?

I know all the components are soldered together and I've read that people have had cold connections that have been fixed by soldering them...

I'm wondering if I can somehow dismantle it and toss it in the oven like I did my gf's dad's old gtx 260 and have it re-solder?

Reflowing properly is a better idea, releasing led vapors and god knows what else into your oven isn't a bright move. To do this properly you need a heatgun and you'd need to mask off all areas you want unaffected and be very careful. Microsoft offers paid repairs, I'd look into that.

Replacing the optical drive will do nothing to solve this problem, so if you want to just do it stop asking. If you want the problem fixed I'd suggest you look into fixing the heat issues.

Reflowing properly is a better idea, releasing led vapors and god knows what else into your oven isn't a bright move. To do this properly you need a heatgun and you'd need to mask off all areas you want unaffected and be very careful. Microsoft offers paid repairs, I'd look into that.

I've been told by several people who repair 360's frequently that it is due to the optical drive burning out and not the GPU overheating... Obviously they could be wrong but that is the reason why I'm wanting to replace it. Also through more testing, I loaded a video on my xbox and it played through the hour and a half without an issue, but when I threw in Forza 2, within 10 minutes of the spinning disc it went bright green & pink pixels somewhat similar to the video from a previous encounter with MW3.

I will take it apart, clean it, and re-apply some AS5 Thermal Paste that I have left over from a friend's PC build, see if that helps. I don't have a heat gun, solder gun, or know what to look for with solder points to be able to identify a problem

I'd look into paid repairs if I wasn't cheap. Honestly I'm at the point right now where I'm willing to try anything DIY (assuming I have the right tools & parts) over paying money for a repair. I like my xbox 360 and would like to solve this issue on my own while spending virtually next-to-no money on a repair or parts, however I won't be hurt without it or if I break it.

Last edited by Vinho; 2012-12-25 at 06:39 AM.

"The Maw's thirst is unquenchable. If it is not fed fresh victims, it will not hesitate to drink from its wielder instead."

I've been told by several people who repair 360's frequently that it is due to the optical drive burning out and not the GPU overheating... Obviously they could be wrong but that is the reason why I'm wanting to replace it. Also through more testing, I loaded a video on my xbox and it played through the hour and a half without an issue, but when I threw in Forza 2, within 10 minutes of the spinning disc it went bright green & pink pixels somewhat similar to the video from a previous encounter with MW3.

I will take it apart, clean it, and re-apply some AS5 Thermal Paste that I have left over from a friend's PC build, see if that helps. I don't have a heat gun, solder gun, or know what to look for with solder points to be able to identify a problem

I'd look into paid repairs if I wasn't cheap. Honestly I'm at the point right now where I'm willing to try anything DIY (assuming I have the right tools & parts) over paying money for a repair. I like my xbox 360 and would like to solve this issue on my own while spending virtually next-to-no money on a repair or parts, however I won't be hurt without it or if I break it.

Whoever told you they repair Xbox 360's and that optical drives can cause artifacts are flat out lying. Your optical drive literally has 0 interaction with the output signal of the game, furthermore a dying optical drive would give a read error long before something like this would happen. Very simply you have a heat problem which is 90% of the RroD issues that ever occurred, which is why the towel trick(super overheating) the xbox worked, the problem is it causes additional damage every time and is only a viable fix once and a while, 15-20mins to boot up and bake ur xbox is kind of worth replacing.

You don't fix it. You either send it to Microsoft or you buy a new one

Originally Posted by Vinho

I'd look into paid repairs if I wasn't cheap. Honestly I'm at the point right now where I'm willing to try anything DIY (assuming I have the right tools & parts) over paying money for a repair. I like my xbox 360 and would like to solve this issue on my own while spending virtually next-to-no money on a repair or parts, I won't be hurt without it or if I break it.

Yeahhhhhh not an option to send it to Microsoft OR buy a new one, now what?

"The Maw's thirst is unquenchable. If it is not fed fresh victims, it will not hesitate to drink from its wielder instead."

Yeahhhhhh not an option to send it to Microsoft OR buy a new one, now what?

If the GPU is busted, you can't do anything. I HIGHLY doubt you can buy another one identical to the one they use(since it is 8-9 year-old Tech). Try to go to a store and say "I want to buy a Nvidia 6600 GT" or similar, they'd laugh at you.

If you don't want to send it to MS or buy new one, then you are out of luck and Xbox. Deal with it.

I'm wondering if I can somehow dismantle it and toss it in the oven like I did my gf's dad's old gtx 260 and have it re-solder?

Oven resoldering really does work, but depending on your luck it might be just temporary fix or it might work for years after. X360 is notorious for bad soldering of GPU.

I'd recommend is keeping some game on until it breaks on you and throws RROD, then get it fixed by Microsoft because it's well known manufacturing defect. They have to do it regardless of if the warranty is out or not.

Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
Trolling should be.

Oven resoldering really does work, but depending on your luck it might be just temporary fix or it might work for years after. X360 is notorious for bad soldering of GPU.

I'd recommend is keeping some game on until it breaks on you and throws RROD, then get it fixed by Microsoft because it's well known manufacturing defect. They have to do it regardless of if the warranty is out or not.

You shouldn't put it in the oven, first you should take it apart look at the Xbracket, if it is busted bent odd looking etc goto the hardware store w/ $6 and buy a handful of different depth washers. Use the washers to tighten the xbracket, GG no more issues.

Now no matter what if you needed to use the oven trick or properly reflowed the board and did not fix the Xbracket it will happen again. When solder points on the gpu are coming up you know there is an obvious issue in tension in the area allowing this to happen.

Also no at this point generation 1-5~ Xbox's are not covered, they were even given a 2 yr extended warranty.